I would try to quote and answer but the cheesetittery would be epic. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. If we make to Rumney i'd definitely be looking for 11a-12b overhanging fun. With the list you've provided though, it almost seems like my time would be better spent staying N. Conway for an extra day.

Mitch and I ran the 5th Annual Birdsboro Climb and Clean this past weekend. It's our annual fundraising event. Volunteers did lots of cliff/trail maintenance and some climbing. We capped off Saturday evening with a BBQ, entertainment and a raffle.

Overall, it was a great success and now I am exhausted.

I encourage you all to give back to your local climbing areas. Leave them better than when you arrived and leave a legacy to the next generation of climbers.

Ask for a site among #101 - 105. They are right on the Saco River. The "walk-in" is all of 50 fifty feet. Showers are clean and hot with abundant time for your 25 cents. Well run, clean and quiet. Go up Westside Road from Cathedral then right on 302. Avoids North Conway traffic.

2 days of climbing in the Adirondacks this weekend. First time climbing in the 'Dacks for me except for my one time at Rogers Rock. I can't believe it took so long for me to finally do it.

Day 1 at Poke-O, finding out I don't know how to crack climb and gaining a deep respect for John Turner and his routes. We did Gamesmanship 5.8+ (first four pitches), The Sting 5.8, Bloody Mary 5.9+ (first two pitches) & P.T. Pillar 5.8+. My partner Adrian led the harder pitches-- I led Ps 2 & 4 of Gamesmanship and the easy P1 of Bloody Mary. But after feeling like I should have led The Sting and could possibly have led P2 of Bloody Mary, I took the sharp end for P.T. Pillar and really struggled up the awkward 5.8+ corner. Took a hang in the middle. Then my partner Adrian turned the other way as the second and just sailed up it. Grrrrr.

Day 2 at Upper Washbowl. Undaunted, I took on the first (5.8) pitch of Hesitation, another vertical-crack-in-a-corner pitch. I took forever to lead it, with an abundance of the namesake hesitation, but got it done with no falls or hangs. The rest of the 4-pitch climb went well. Then we did Ps 1 & 2 of the 5.6 Weissner Route (very impressive for 1938!), to the final pitch of Partition (5.9-). I fell seconding Partition at the wet upper crux but I was proud to have jammed the whole thing. Maybe I'm finally starting to catch on to this vertical crack thing.

Ask for a site among #101 - 105. They are right on the Saco River. The "walk-in" is all of 50 fifty feet. Showers are clean and hot with abundant time for your 25 cents. Well run, clean and quiet. Go up Westside Road from Cathedral then right on 302. Avoids North Conway traffic.

2 days of climbing in the Adirondacks this weekend. First time climbing in the 'Dacks for me except for my one time at Rogers Rock. I can't believe it took so long for me to finally do it.

Day 1 at Poke-O, finding out I don't know how to crack climb and gaining a deep respect for John Turner and his routes. We did Gamesmanship 5.8+ (first four pitches), The Sting 5.8, Bloody Mary 5.9+ (first two pitches) & P.T. Pillar 5.8+. My partner Adrian led the harder pitches-- I led Ps 2 & 4 of Gamesmanship and the easy P1 of Bloody Mary. But after feeling like I should have led The Sting and could possibly have led P2 of Bloody Mary, I took the sharp end for P.T. Pillar and really struggled up the awkward 5.8+ corner. Took a hang in the middle. Then my partner Adrian turned the other way as the second and just sailed up it. Grrrrr.

Day 2 at Upper Washbowl. Undaunted, I took on the first (5.8) pitch of Hesitation. I took forever to lead it, with an abundance of the namesake hesitation, but got it done with no falls or hangs. The rest of the 4-pitch climb went well. Then we did Ps 1 & 2 of the 5.6 Weissner Route (very impressive for 1938!), to the final pitch of Partition (5.9-). I fell seconding Partition at the wet upper crux but I was proud to have jammed the whole thing. Maybe I'm finally starting to catch on to this vertical crack thing.

Great, amazing routes, a very educational weekend.

Nice!

I think P1 of Gamesmanship is about a good of a pitch at that grade in the northeast.

And I loved Bloody Mary. I kind of wish I had led more of it. I, too, only led P1.

didn't get going til 10am sunday. epic fail on Baby (not my choice, hate that fucking route), partner failed and got cam stuck so i couldn't downclean/bail, took a while for him to finally clean it. Did Maria P1 and 2. Then did Strickley's to Shockelys. partner wanted to go to town to Rock and Snow and dinner so ended with the sun stilll up :P 5 pitches blahhhh...

sunday.. started better. got up P1 modern times to High E. Took longer than I wanted since my partner was talking a girl next to us through cleaning gear since she had no clue. The brilliant leader also placed a Ball nut... yea.. P1 High E... ball nut.. with a noob 2nd. ps it's still there. Partner took forever on High E. Rapped off and went down to do Bonnies Direct. Had to wait for folks to clean their shit off Bonnies. TRin'g off the intermediate anchor after the first roof. Led bonnies.. love that P1. Partner fell getting up to the first roof and couldn't get back on the rock. I seem to not weigh enough to unload an ATC guide (any tips in person would be great.. visual learner) Had to have a parter behind us come pull him over to the rock so he could unweight the rope and lower off. took forever. In retrospect i should have tried to untie and lower my end of the rope for something for him to either yard up on or swing over with. I plan to use my Cinch for top belaying a lot more now

Headed back towards Uberfall and did P1 Columbia to P2/3 Madamn G's Columbia was quite an interesting challenge haha I disagree with Seth's assessment that it's G not PG. MG's was good as always.. steep jug haulin'. Rapped off and called it a day. 6 pitches.. still not the 10 i was hoping for when we started out. I wanted to do Snooky's after Columbia but the light was fading.

I made it out this weekend, too, back to Anhangava (pronounced - Ai-yen-ga-va). Climbed with three people, all of which had never been to this place before (so I was the guide, and I had only climbed there twice before, with one of those days a short hiking and bouldering day). We didn't have a guidebook, but we knew which easy climbs to get on.

One of the guys got to the top of this first outdoor climb ever. He doesn't even have climbing shoes and he still did a good job without falling or resting.

Next weekend we're thinking of heading to a place called Morrettes (pronounced - mo-het-tes).

Shortly after our Aug Mammoth vacation Iím turning around heading out of town for Idaho Falls for some computer training. I decided to head out the weekend after to the City that Rocks to see if I could partner up for some climbing.

Before the weekend, Iím introduced to the companyís climbing guru, K. Heís with the Idaho Alpine Club and invites me to their Wed evening climbing outing. They get a number of people joining them every week, and this week they did Heise Rock with everyone chill on TRíing. K gives me a belay on Rock A Bye Baby. The beta is 5.9, but the rock is slippery. True that, and I proceed to hang dog the heck out of the TR. Eventually slipping, sliding, and swinging to the top. Give a couple belays and then get on another route. Two Minute Crack, 5.7. Well I didnít do it in two minutes. It goes between climbing the face and stemming, but fun none the less. After giving a couple more belays the gang heads next door for some pizza and beer. Pretty good for a quick pick up after work.

The next day he looks me up in class, heís got a family trip on with a friend for Sunday at City of Rocks. Nothing harder than 5.7, cool Iíll climb 5.7 all day.

Friday I head to Craters of the Moon for some sightseeing. Itís raining pretty good in the morning, but by the time I get there itís done. I check out the sights, the craters, the caves, and visitor center. Cool sights, and educational. Deff worth a swing by if you in the area, even though itís a ways from anything. However, after grabbing a quick dinner in Twin Falls, Iím driving the bridge across the gorge and notice a handful of guys walking across. With backpacks, look like parachute style packs. Pull quickly into the scenic overview. Just in time to see the first guy jump off, and then 3 more. Kind of scary looking to watch first hand. Apparently itís a regular activity there, they have a permanently marked landing zone.

Saturday spent checking out the City of Rocks, also Castle Rocks state park for a little. Everyone is pretty well partnered up at the City, and only one group really working some top roping. Most of the climbs are looking to be pretty full pitches with double rope raps offs. I donít push the Iím looking for partners, as I had Sunday climbing lined up. I was a little bummed, was hoping to find more TRing going on that I could jump on. But the location was not really set up for that. Otherwise, it was a good day just exploring and getting a feel for the place.

Sunday we meet at a gas station outside the City to caravan in. Grabbing a sandwich from their cooler, Jefferson Starship We Built This City on Rock (and Roll) is playing, and I take it as a good sign for the day. The guys drive up and we introduce ourselves all around. They decide on Bumble Wall. We start on Mystery Bolter 5.9, it can be lead and just barely TRíd with a 70m. D leads but needs a little push off the start. I use the cooler step start. Dís wife too. K figures the ring lock in the shallow groove to get it in good style. The climbing is nice, with trust in your feet a must. Consensus was probably would be 10a or so if the crux was not right off the ground. Next up was New York is Not a City, 10a, which had a campus up start. Strenuous for me, so I get little more help with my feet. D lead clean, his wife pulled through the whole pitch. K climbed last again with good style. Others thought the crux was getting past the 4th bolt near the top. I found the start and the step section from the 1-3 bolts to be the most strenuous. Easily TRíd with the 70m, unsure if a 60 would work.

Finally, Too Much Fun 5.8 was the last go of the day. D lead on the 70 and brought K up second carrying the 60. They rapped and then TRíd using both ropes. Both wifeís gave this a bit of a go. After letting the others lead and clean the climbs I get duty to clear the last route. Although I did my share of belaying. Again, the crux was the start. After trying to stem up several times, I have to have one last little foothold help. I work up past the 4th bolt, and they want to switch belayers at the knot as anticipated. No not yet, the rock is too steep. Five more feet and Iím standing on a little ledge, where I can rest no hands. OK now. Shake out and work up, and up, and up. We figured it was about 150', here on RC they list it at 175, but I don't think quite that long. But eitherway, a couple of 60's will work for climbing and rapping off. Great ledge at the top, overlooking the little valley weíre in. I thread the rope through the chains, unclip the biners, and rap off. Beat. So much for not climbing anything harder than a 7. I got enough climbing in. A good day for sure.

Nice TR, Don. Sounds as if you've gotta get out for more training sessions. Also sounds like nice people up there. Any pics?

Yes, yes I do need to get out for some training. These folks have a group that climbs every Wed evening when the weather is nice. Much jealousy. I have pics of the trip, Craters, base jumping, City o Rocks, but no pictures of our climbing. I'll be trying get them on FB next couple of days.

I managed to get in 4 pitches (albeit wet pitches) on Friday but it rained all day on Saturday and well into the morning on SUnday. I think it was climbable late Sunday, but, I got distracted by home stuff and never made it to the cliff.

I did enjoy a day of climbing in southern Frankenjura last weekend. We did 9 pitches (or so), starting with a fun 4-5 pitch climb that was a mixed route, 5.7. The route was more than 100 years old and had some polished sections, although they didn't interfere wtih the climbing. The last pitch was a cool ridge walk, very alpine feel. We spent the rest of the day running up single pitch climbs, mostly in the 10 range, mostly bolted, occasional piece of gear required. The rock was limestone, very similar to EPC. I would gladly go back. Thanks Jim Titt for being a wonderful host!

With guests in from Arizona and Mexico (Lori, Manny and Jaime), Mitch and I wanted to show them great Gunks climbing. We knew the crowds would be outrageous this weekend at the gunks. The weather was stellar (80's, full sun) and everyone came out to get in their last climbing before the end of the season.

Lori, Manny, Jaime, Bett and I climbed in the Trapps on Thursday and Friday. We hit many of the classics in the Uberfall (and beyond) and enjoyed the fact that we didn't wait for any climbs.

While Jaime lead two pitches of Betty, Manny and I ran up The Blackout. It's one of my new favorites. The Blackout, is not exactly a "hidden" gem, but a gem none the less. It's next to Betty and offers a wide variety of fun climbing. Jaime lost his way Betty P2 which gave Manny and I enough time to jump on Classic and Jackie. Gotta love late Friday afternoons at the Gunks...no lines...woo hoo!

On Friday we hit the Mac wall. Jaime lead Three Pines and I am especially happy to say that I finally followed Mother's Day Party clean. For whatever reason, that brown face has always stymied me. Not this time...I got my feet high, hit the undercling with my left hand and threw for the crimps with my right. I stuck it and enjoyed the jug haul the rest of the way to the anchors. I firmly believe that all my sessions with the personal trainer are paying off, my increase in strength has improved my climbing.

We knew Saturday was going to be crazy in the Trapps. No one wanted to get up early to secure a parking spot in the Trapps so we decided to go to Bonticou and pick out lines and just climb them. In Gail's world, that kind of climbing is unheard of. Gail likes to read the guide book(s), Mountain Project, RC.com and triangulate all information about a climb before attempting said climb. For whatever reason, my guests inspired me to be more adventurous. So, off to the Q to pick out some lines we went.

Day 3: We climbed a sweet face to the left of the yellow blazed scramble. Not the first face you come to, keep heading across the boulders to the second face. The rock quality was great and you can lead multiple lines up the face.

Here is a photo of Lori enhoying the friction:

Here is a shot of Jaime, leading one of the stellar face climbs:

A shot of me near the top of the face. Man the rock had awesome friction! There was actually a tree with rings and slings at the top of this face.

We also set up a TR on a very fun climb (10+), complete with campus moves, a jam, a hand foot match and a tough rock over. This is Manny making it look easy (I found it burly and fun, not sure I would lead it!)

Day 4: We picked a wall that looked very good, far right of the scramble. We scrambled in (it's hard to scramble when you are carrying two racks in your pack) and picked out two lines. An easy looking line pretty much straight up to a large ceiling and then a traverse to top out. Here is my line:

Manny picked out a climb that looked much like the Dangler. Off we went. I had an easy time up to a large boulder below the roof, then things got a little more thoughtful. On top of the boulder was a lot of loose boulders and junk. I had to be very careful picking my way up the climb and getting to the ceiling without killing my belayer. While I was not sketched, I was very mindful and deliberate. The traverse/exit was very different from what i was expecting, but it was really rather mild once you figured out the gear and started making the moves. It was uber exposed! Lots of fun to top out on Bonticou and surprise the tourists walking around on top. I TR'd Manny's climb, it was very fun, juggy, exposed and solid rock quality. He could not go the Dangler way...it had a distinct lack of gear. The climb lead him right through fun jugs and lots of exposure. Here is Manny belaying me as I top out:

We went back to the Trapps so that Jaime could lead something a bit harder than Betty and Three Pines. Jaime is a 12+ sport climber, but a newish trad leader. I wanted him to do the Bunny roof, but there was someone just starting up the climb when we got there (530ish). Ken's was open, it protects extremely well, so we put Jaime on Ken's. He climbed it in fine style and probably placed 12 pieces of gear in 50 feet. Why not? He was practicing and his gear was super. It was a great way to wrap up Jaime's first trip to the Gunks. Here is Jaime leading Ken's:

I just finished a great 5 days of climbing (Weds-Sunday) and am a bit sad to see the leaves changing. Our Gunks season is about to morph into ice season.

Wow, it's so weird thinking about the end of the season when mine is just starting. I'm sure you'll get another few weeks in. I used to try to climb right up until the first week of November in the 'Gunks, but yeah, it did start to get cold about this time and the climbing rarely started before 10am this time of year (gotta give the hot chocolate a chance to warm up). Way to be adventurous, too!

I had to bail on the weekend due to a 2-week stretch of illness that included fever, aches and pains, sore throat, sneezing, stuffiness, and a nasty cough to round out the end. Still battling, but I feel better.

Fingers are crossed the weather is good next weekend and the health issues are gone.